Revenge is Difficult to Deal With
by Allie Winter
Summary: Spencer Reid has grown up, found/created a family and is starting to really enjoy life. Why is it that that's always the point when everything goes wrong? Just as a disclaimer, this is purely fan made I own nothing (except the plot and my ocs) and earn no money from this material
1. Chapter 1

It was one of those rare days that Spencer had free from the BAU. A day he had to spend time and relax, without a care in the world. How he spent these days had changed dramatically over the past few years, previously he would have just spent the day at home sorting things out, reading or visiting his mother in Las Vegas; now, however, Spencer spent his free days with Carrie. Carrie, the professor of History at the University of Virginia, had met Spencer when he'd done a presentation on becoming an agent to her class. They had made plans to grab a coffee the next day and before they realised it, they were spending every free waking minute together, Carrie understood that there would be times when Spencer had to cancel because of his job, just as he understood that she had to mark and grade papers.

Anyway the pair were walking hand in hand around the Brandon Plantation and Gardens, which was a place they frequently visited as Carrie was fascinated with her history and the gardens were beautiful. They were taking their time not in any rush to get anywhere or see anything, merely enjoying each other's company. They were nearly at their favourite spot near the water fountain when Reid's phone went off.

"I'm so sorry," He apologized, his voice shaking slightly, Carrie shook her head smiling. Spencer ducked his head as he answered the phone, making her laugh, "Hey Hotch," He greeted, "Where? I'm already there; Carrie and I were just walking around the grounds. When did it happen? Right. Jack? Uh…"

"I'll take care of Jack," Carrie volunteered, "I mean we've already paid entrance, might as well make the most of it. Plus it's been a while since Jack and I spent time together,"

"Carrie says she'll take him Hotch. Yeah, we'll meet you there. Ok, see you in a few," Spencer looked at Carrie and sighed, "Let's go meet the gang then,"

"Cheer up Spence, at least we spent yesterday together and the sooner you solve this case the sooner we can do something else together," She encouraged trying to cheer him up because of what she assumed to be a case. They walked towards the entrance where there were already police cars, an ambulance and a black SUV parked.

"Spencer! Carrie!" Jack yelled, running away from his father and Morgan. He barrelled into Spencer's legs, he picked the boy up and gave him a quick hug, while Carrie lent over and kissed his cheek. Jack hugged the pair of them before struggling to get down again.

"Jack, what have I told you about running off?" Hotch asked as he approached the trio, "Hey Spencer, Carrie,"

"Not to, but Daddy we could see them and they could see me," Jack protested, taking Carrie's free hand in his.

"Yeah, Dad, he could see us," Spencer joked, making Morgan and Carrie laugh while Jack exclaimed, "See!"

"Reid stay out of this and I do believe I told you not to call me Dad when we're on a case," Hotch's attention had switched to Spencer now so Jack took this opportunity to pull on Carrie's hand, dragging her off in the direction she had just come from.

"Hold up there Kiddo. I do believe your Dad and Reid may just have a heart attack if the pair of you disappeared on them," Rossi chuckled as he joined the group. JJ, Emily and Garcia trailing behind him, making Spencer appear to grow even more nervous. Hotch clasped his shoulder in an attempt to calm him while Carrie stared in confusion, crouching down to Jack's level, she looked at him.

"Do you know what this is about?" She asked the five year old, warily eyeing the group of profilers surrounding the pair. He shook his head after glancing up at his dad.

"Carrie, I'd like to talk to everyone before we begin looking at the case. Can you lead us to the fountain you and Spencer are always talking about please?" Hotch asked Carrie as she stood to her full height again, she nodded in response looking at them curiously before showing them the route which she and Spencer had just come down.

It was only when she stopped in front of the fountain and turned around that she noticed the others had stopped a small distance away and it was only Spencer who was within reaching distance.

"Spence, what's?" She began to ask before abruptly cutting of when he knelt down on one knee and produced a velvet box.

"I love you Carrie and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'll let me. You're practically living with me anyway so we might as well make it official which is good because statistically we have a better chance if we haven't been living together but willyoumarryme?" Spencer rushed.

"What?" She laughed.

"Will you marry me?" He tried again, blushing and ducking his head. She stared at him for a millisecond before grabbing his hand, pulling him up and kissing him passionately. Suddenly they were swamped by the group of profilers that Spencer considered him family. Jack was bouncing around happily while everyone else was offering congratulations and wishing them well. It ended too soon for the happy pair as they had to return to their work leaving Jack and Carrie to enjoy the remainder of the day together in the gardens.

It was decided that the BAU team, their families, Diana Reid and Carrie's adopted parents would be the only ones in attendance at the wedding of Carol Kleen and Dr Spencer Reid. The pair had a wedding on the beach, Carrie wearing a pure white dress with intricate golden patterns made of floating fabrics. Hotch was Reid's best man, Jack was the ring bearer, Henry was the page boy, Carrie's little half-sisters were the bridesmaids and JJ was Carrie's maid of honour. It was a beautiful day that Carrie walked down the aisle to a non-traditional song, A Thousand Years, a day which neither of them will ever forget.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a long case the previous week. Hotch and Spencer were exhausted as they made their way to the front door, that however quickly changed. The light was on in the living room and you could hear the music faintly from the outside along with the soft laughter associated with their children.

"Daddy!" Was the general cry as the front door swung open and Spencer felt a familiar weight crash into his legs. He lifted his youngest into his arms as his older two ran over and gave him and Hotch a hug. Jack merely sat in the arm chair, watching the scene.

"Hey Dad, Spencer," He greeted calmly. His blonde hair hung in his eyes, which annoyed Hotch and Carrie no end but he liked it and his school books were laying in a pile at his feet.

"Working hard are we buddy?" Hotch asked ruffling his hair as he walked past with Melanie in his arms.

"You always catch me during my break. It's not fair!" Jack retorted. Spencer chuckled and sat in the nearest available seat, settling his baby boy in his lap, the familiar scene and noise being comforting and relaxing after the long week that they'd just endured. Hotch had placed Mel back on the floor before joining Spencer and Jack in the chairs by the fireplace and coffee table. The four year old was now dancing around the room to the music that Carrie had obviously put on earlier, occasionally pulling on her older brother's arm to encourage the five year old to play. James however was too engrossed in the book that he was reading to even consider dancing with his sister.

"Carrie, we're home!" Spencer called out to let his wife know it was them who had walked through the door, in case she hadn't heard Ace screaming his name. A figure came into the doorway and stood there, her brown hair tied back and an apron wrapped tightly around her waist. She surveyed the scene for several minutes before approaching Spencer and lightly kissing his cheek before hugging Hotch.

"Welcome home. I see Ace hasn't lost any time in claiming you. I don't remember Mel or Jay ever being that bad when you went away as he's been. He was up all night that first night, I barely got any sleep and if it hadn't been for Jack I wouldn't have been able to peel him off of me the first couple of days. Jay has been having a lot of fun at school and Mel has just been her usual bubbly self but when the phone rang she was always stood next to me bouncing on her feet asking if it was 'Daddy'" Carrie explained, trying to catch Spencer up on their children's activities over the past week. The timer went off just then so Carrie hurried back into the kitchen calling to Jack to set the table, which he got up to do. Ace just buried his head deeper into his father's chest.

"What's up Ace? Are you feeling alright?" Spencer asked looking down at his son in concern. He was rewarded when he saw blue eyes, the very same eyes that Carrie had, peeking up at him. "Come on buddy, talk to me," Spencer pleaded.

"I missed you Daddy. Why did you have to go?" The three year old asked innocently. Spencer looked at Hotch for some indication as to how to handle this situation. He was however mistaken in his wishful thinking when his father figure just shrugged.

"I had to go and help Grandpa and the rest of the team fight the baddies," Spencer tried.

"Like Captain America?" Ace asked, Jack had got the kids hooked on superheroes the minute they began to take an interest in their surroundings, which at times Spencer and Carrie were thankful for and others (like the time James tried to fly and had ended up with a broken arm) they weren't.

"I think Grandpa's more like Captain America, Ace. Daddy's more Tony Stark," Hotch said with a grin, Spencer merely rolled his eyes.

"Daddy's like IRON MAN! Cool! Wait till I tell Uncle Jack!" He cried as he struggled to get off of his father's lap and find Jack. Both men chuckled as Ace charged out of the room screaming for Jack. Carrie appeared in the doorway and informed the family that dinner was served.

Spencer and Carrie hung back a bit watching as Hotch interacted with their young children and his son. Spencer pressed a kiss to Carrie's temple and smiled as she leaned against him.

"I never thought this would be possible, yet here we are," Spencer whispered, referring to the sight in front of him.

"It was only a matter of time Spence, only a matter of time. After all I think Garcia was going to kidnap us and force us to get married if we waited any longer," She joked making the pair laugh before they sat down at the dining table for an evening meal with their family.


	3. Chapter 3

6 Years Later

That morning he had woken up in a fairly good mood, then again he had no idea what he was going to do but it was better that way. Or so he thought. The family his eyes were set on had no idea what was going to happen that fatal day. No idea what so ever, that was what he liked best. He would take the kids first, he decided. Yes that's the way to go, kids first. Get the worst over with first; give the parents longer to worry.

* * *

"Come on Kid. Give it up, James is old enough for a little more independence," Morgan told Reid. It had been a frequent topic at the BAU about how Spencer Reid had become the most protective father in existence.

"How can you say that after everything we see on a daily basis?" He demanded, looking at Morgan.

"You just have to take a chance Reid, otherwise you'll lose them," Morgan sighed.

"Case!" JJ yelled coming into the bullpen at precisely the right time. The team all congregated in the round table room. Where Hotch stood in front of the board; frowning, he looked over the images that filled the screen.

"Right, this case is here in Virginia. Someone is kidnapping the families of law enforcement officials. They take the children first, leaving the parents in a mad panic, before kidnapping the spouse. Finally he rings the official before killing the family in a place which is significant to said official," Hotch explained.

"We'll be working out of this office, this time and virtually independently to the police department as the most recent victim is a federal agent. His children were taken yesterday, which means if the pattern is correct, his wife will be taken today," JJ continued.

"Reid, Morgan, interview the victims. Prentiss, Rossi, take the final scene and JJ; you're with me at the first two. Right, let's get going," Hotch announced, watching as everyone filed out of the room, ready to begin on their assignments, all eager to return the children to their parents and stop the unsub from doing any more damage.

The group reconvened for lunch and discussed their findings. It was hard going and fairly difficult for them as it always is when children are involved. Particularly after the team started having children of their own. Maybe this was why those children; Jack, Henry, James, Melanie and Jason, were a lot more protected than any others.

"Sir, the unsub has taken Mrs Morrison," A young agent said timidly to Hotch at the end of lunch. The reaction to that news was not good. The team's faces clouded over and Hotch began to yell at the poor agent completely disregarding the phrase, 'don't shoot the messenger'.

"How on Earth did he manage to get her? We had people posted to protect her and keep her from being hurt or taken. How the hell did this happen?" He demanded as the agent before him started to shake.

"I…I…I don't know sir. I was just told to come and tell you," The agent stammered, looking as though he wished he were anywhere but there at that moment in time. Unfortunately for the agent this answer did not satisfy Rossi, who turned to the agent and gave him a cold glare.

"Then I suggest you get the man responsible for Mrs Morrison's safety in here now," He said coldly trying to calm Hotch down. The agent practically ran out of the room, grateful for the escape with which he had been provided. In mere minutes another agent stood in the doorway facing the team. This agent looked older and more confident, less likely to be intimidated by Hotch, Morgan and Rossi.

"I heard you wanted to speak with me," He stated casually as though he didn't realise that a federal agents family was missing and had hours to live.

"Of course I wanted to see you. A woman has been kidnapped from under _your_ protective custody and I want to know how!" Hotch yelled at the man.

"Well, we can't follow the woman everywhere Agent Hotchner. There are certain places where we can't enter but made sure to check out beforehand. However, the unsub somehow managed to take her while my men were under the impression that she was using the bathroom. Is there anything else?" He asked, examining his nails.

"Do you not care that a family is missing and could turn up dead at any minute. The reason that one member of that family is missing is because your team couldn't do their jobs properly and protect her!" Morgan exclaimed trying to pull out of the grip Reid had on his arm in an attempt to restrain him.

"I am aware that she fell through the cracks but there was nothing more we could have done short of compromising her dignity. Now you should all be focusing on your jobs instead of mine and find them," The agent snapped before, turning and leaving the room, only to bump into someone just outside the door, "What are you lot doing here? A bit too young to be FBI Agents aren't you?" He sneered at the eldest.

"Our parents work here sir. Now if you'll excuse me, I wish to go and see my Dad and they would like to see theirs as well," Jack's voice could be heard from the bull pen. The BAU team rushed out to rescue the children just in case it turned ugly.

"Daddy!" A voice cried as a body launched itself at Spencer, when the team entered the room. They saw Jack staring down the agent who had only recently caused them so many problems. Hotch smiled proudly at his son.

"Hey buddy. Good day at school?" Spencer asked before glancing up and catching sight of Jack and the agent in the centre of the room, "Hold on a sec, bud. Don't you think it's time for you to leave Agent Richmond?" He asked. The agent sent a scowl Reid's way before retorting.

"But of course _Agent _Reid," He snapped before storming away from the family in the bull pen. Mel also ran at her father then while Hotch walked up to Jack and James stayed where he was.

"Hey there Mellie. I'm not angry any more Jay, never was to begin with really. Come here," Spencer coaxed looking at his eldest son who was stood stock still in the middle of the bull pen. Reluctantly the eleven year old made his way to his father and allowed him to give him a hug. "I love you guys. You know that, right?" Spencer said as he hugged his children to him.

"We love you too Daddy," Mel responded for the three of them, before detangling herself and running over to the others to greet them as well. It was then that Reid realised his wife was stood by the elevator. He grimaced when he remembered what he had promised her.

"Spencer Reid!" She yelled, making him frown slightly as Morgan and Jack snickered quietly.

"I'm sorry," He attempted as she stormed across the bull pen.

"You promised! Mel's dance recitals coming up!" She yelled at the man before she caught sight of the murder board which was still set up in the round table room. Her voice softened immediately, "Bad case?" She asked.

"Yeah," He croaked, "Children and spouses of law enforcement officials. Strikes a little close to home,"

"We're all here and fine, Spence. Everything will be alright. You'll catch the bad guy. You always do," Carrie said quietly as she kissed his cheek.

"Sorry to break this up kids but Agent Morrison is receiving the phone call. We need to be ready to move at a moment's notice," Morgan interrupted coming up to the couple. Carrie nodded, kissing Spencer and hugging Morgan.

"Call me when you can. Stay safe," She said before gathering the children and leading them out of the office. Spencer stood and watched them going before hurrying to follow the rest of his team.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - As you can all probably tell I'm English not American, so while I am trying to use American words such as 'elevator' I apologize if half way through I begin to use the English equivalent.**

The next day was perfectly normal for the Reid family. They woke up at a normal time; Spencer had to go into the office on a Saturday, which while normal, still didn't seem fair to the kids. They sat at the table, all except Jack who was still in bed, with sleep still in their eyes as they watched their father and 'grandfather' leave the house. They were determined to be at work so that should the killer strike again they would know immediately therefore would be able to respond quicker than they would have if they were sat waiting at home.

Throughout the day they went over the information that they had gathered the previous day and worked on a geographic profile. Then the dreaded phone call came. The bodies of the family had been discovered at the local park. Only a two minute walk from the family house. The team set out to gain what knowledge they could from the site before returning to the bull pen.

"Right, we need to focus so we can catch this guy. We know he already has a new target as that is the way he works. But we need to catch this guy before he breaks any more families apart,"Hotch stated pacing back and forth in front of the murder board.

"We're still searching for a motive, but the only connection to the families is that the father is a law enforcement official of some sort. The first three were policemen and the fourth a federal agent, so it's safe to say that he's progressing," Morgan said.

"So, a federal agent's family was who he had targeted all along," Hotch mussed, "But why?"

"Maybe he has a grudge against the federal agent in question or his father was a federal agent and for some reason he resents him," Rossi suggested, the others nodded in agreement. It was decided that there wasn't much that they could do except release their profile to the public and wait, so they ordered some food and ate lunch in the bull pen. It was an agonising couple of hours as they waited to find out which unlucky agent would lose their family next.

At two, the elevator doors opened to reveal a distressed looking agent, who was looking frantically around the bull pen, eyes searching until they landed on Reid. She hurried over to the team and stood nervously before them, evidently having heard the rumours about their short tempers recently.

"Um, Dr. Reid?" She began.

"Yes?" He prompted.

"Your wife and Jack Hotchner are in hospital. They were found in an alley near your house. I was told to come and tell you. They are both fine, Agent Hotchner, however you need to get there and to the alley as soon as possible," The agent rushed out as she looked round at the teams expressions.

"Why? What happened?" Spencer asked already on his feet and grabbing his coat as were the rest of the team.

"Um, I don't think I'm the best person to explain this…" She began.

"Just tell us," Emily demanded of the girl stood in front of them.

"They were attacked and I'm so sorry Dr. Reid but your children were taken. It looks as though there was one hell of a struggle but… I'm sorry," She said turning and running away before they could even begin to understand the situation properly. Rossi was the first to recover.

"Hotch, you and Reid go to the hospital. Make sure Jack and Carrie are ok, the rest of us will head to the alley way and meet you there. Garcia, see if you can get any video footage or a trace on James's emergency cell phone," Rossi ordered as the team made their way to the elevator in a hurry.

Hotch and Reid arrived at the hospital in minutes. The amount of times the pair of them had been in a hospital you would have expected them to be a lot calmer, however they practically yelled at the poor receptionist and demanded to see their family members. They were quickly directed to the room where Carrie and Jack were being patched up.

Hotch rushed over to his son and took his face in his hands as he inspected every inch of him, while Spencer slowly made his way to Carrie. Her cheeks were tearstained and she had a large gash on her forehead which had been cleaned and covered by a bandage. She looked up as she saw the shoes approaching.

"I'm sorry," She cried, throwing herself into Spencer's arms, "I tried to stop them. I tried to protect the children but there was too much going on and I lost track of what happened after I was hit," She explained through the tears, gesturing at her head wound.

"It's my fault really. I was the one who wanted to go and get that new game. It could have waited," Jack said forlornly.

"No!" Carrie snapped, before either of the men could even open their mouths, "This is not your fault. I wanted to get out of the house as well and I was the one who decided to use the alley instead of walking the long way round," Carrie explained in an attempt to comfort Jack.

"Look, we could play the blame game, for hours and still not progress. It isn't anyone's fault that this happened. What's important now is getting the kids back," Hotch said comfortingly. He pulled Jack into his arms, pressing a kiss to his head as his son sobbed onto his chest.

The knock at the door shocked everyone in the room from their thoughts. Rossi and JJ walked in looking sad. They approached the beds and gave weak smiles.

"I'm sorry but we have to do this. It's procedure and it could help," Rossi explained. Carrie nodded while Jack looked confused. JJ smiled warmly at him.

"Why don't we go and get some chips Jack?" She suggested slowly leading him out of the room and towards the nearest vending machine, talking calmly to him as they went. He glanced back at the adults in the room before taking the hand his 'Aunt' JJ had offered him as they left.

"What happened, Carrie?" Rossi asked slowly, watching her reactions as he spoke.

"Jack wanted to get that new video game and I wanted to get out of the house, so we decided it would be a good idea for us all to go to the mall and then onto the park or something like that to let Mel and Ace run off some steam. It was alright until I decided to lead them down that alley that leads to the mall. I felt as though something was wrong. I just couldn't tell what was wrong. Not until he jumped at us and pulled a knife on Jack. Ace started crying, Mel clung to me while James, Jack and I tried to reason with him. It was then that everything goes fuzzy because I think I was hit over the head with something, as the next thing I properly remember is being in an ambulance with Jack," Carrie rushed out as though she truly believed that getting the story out there meant that she'd forget all about the events of today. That she would no longer have to worry about her children being missing or the guilt she thought was going to consume her. "I tried Spencer, I really did. I'm so sorry but like I said I think I was hit…"

"You were," Jack interrupts from the hallway, "It was really scary. One minute Carrie was standing there comforting Mel and Ace, the next she was on the floor and some really buff guy was holding the pair of them tight enough for them to have bruises on their arms. The guy who had the knife to my throat then told me that there wasn't anything I could do as I yelled at them and demanded they let them go. He just laughed then threw me at the wall which I hit with my wrist, hence the cast. Then he grabbed James and the three of them were shoved into a van before I could get back onto my feet," Jack explains as he came to take a seat beside Carrie on the one bed.

"You both did a really good job;" JJ said encouragingly, "Most would have panicked had they been in your situation but you kept your cool. Had you panicked and fought more I can imagine that someone would have been seriously hurt instead of just a few broken bones."  
"But what about my babies!" Carrie cried, "They still managed to take my babies from me,"

"It's going to be alright. We'll get them back," JJ reassured her.


	5. Chapter 5

It was cold. That was the first thing Mel realised when she woke up. The other was that she was tied up in a room with a brother on either side of her. She looked around and saw stone walls built up on all four sides, the only way out appearing to be the stone steps which led to what seemed to be a trap door. She looked at each of her brothers, trying to assess the damages done to the three of them. Luckily though there appeared to be no lasting damage, just a few scrapes and bruises.

"James," She hissed pushing her brother gently, "James wake up."

"Wazzamatter?" James asked, looking groggily around at the room. It was as though a shock went through his body as he sat up and turned to his sister and brother, "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" He demanded making Mel smile slightly.

"I'm fine. Ace is still out of it but he looks alright too. Jay what do we do?" Melanie asked, James wrapped his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her despite the fact that he was panicking as well. Being calm appeared to be the objective here, as it would mean that they could clear their heads and think up an escape route. Ace started to stir at the sound of his siblings voices so they lowered them in an attempt to protect him from the knowledge of where they were. Unfortunately this didn't work and much to their disappointment Ace's eyes blinked open. He stared around the room for a couple of minutes, his mouth dropping open.

"Mel? Jay? Where are we?" He asked, his voice trembling. The pair reached a hand out to comfort him and pull him into a hug. Ace immediately lent into the comfort that they were providing him with. The trio sat there in silence for several minutes just soaking up the comfort the others were providing them with. All too soon James extracted himself from that semblance of safety to start walking around the room, inspecting the walls.

"James? What are you doing?" Mel asked frowning slightly as she watched her older brother. Ace was still clinging to her and there was little that could be accomplished by leaving him on his own. He seemed too scared to operate without one of his siblings there to hold him up and reassure him that they'd be alright and that Daddy and Grandpa would find them.

There was a sudden noise outside the room and James practically flew back towards his siblings, standing in front of them protectively. Mel glared at his back as she got to her feet, pulling Ace up with her, her arms still wrapped around him as though she could shelter him from further harm if she held him tight enough.

The trap door at the top of the stairs opened throwing bright light down into the room, before it was quickly blocked by a male figure. The figure slowly descended the stairs, shutting the door on his way down. He came to a stop at the base of the stairs and surveyed the siblings. James held his ground in front of the other two, glaring at their captor.

"What do you want?" He demanded, not waiting for his captor to reply he continued so as not to lose his confidence, "You'll be sorry for this when Dad, Grandpa and their team find us!"

"Are you done?" The captor asked staring at him as though thoroughly bored, "Do you really think your father will find you before it's too late? Are you sure he even cares? I mean I know my father didn't care about my family,"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Dad's nothing like your father. He loves us and he won't stop until he finds us," James yelled as Ace sobbed into Mel. She tightened her hold on her little brother, glaring up at the man who had caused his distress.

"Very well, if that's what you believe. Who would like to speak to your father first?" He asked casually, "The others didn't pick up but there's always the chance that yours will be different." James turned to look and Mel and Jason. Mel nodded at him, motioning to the way Ace was stuck to her and refused to let go.

"I'll do it," he volunteered, glancing up at their captor. The man grabbed his wrists to which Mel yelled in protest and tied them together.

"Don't you worry love, you'll get your turn soon enough and I promise he'll be home soon," and with that the man dragged James out of the room leaving the younger two captives behind in the old basement.

The bull pen was a hive of activity, one of the team had been home since they had heard the news about their family. James, Mel and Ace had been missing for nearly 24 hours so the protection surrounding Carrie had increased much to her annoyance. She spent most of her time with Spencer, Hotch, JJ or Garcia, all of whom were determined to keep her safe and not let her out of their sight. Carrie couldn't take much more of this. She knew that it was all for their protection, but how much longer could they keep living like this.

It was then that the phone rang. Spencer's phone. That shocked everyone in the vicinity. He jumped up to answer it but was stopped by Hotch who motioned for Garcia to start recording the message. Spencer picked up the phone.

"Well this is a first," The voice sneered after Spencer answered, "Usually they're all too busy to bother answering their phones."

"Well, I've answered mine. What do you want? Where are my children?" Spencer demanded calmly.

"Uh, uh, uh. I'd be nice if I were you. After all you don't know what the situation is here. All you know is that I have your children and you don't. You don't know that little Jason is clinging to his sister so tightly that he's cutting off blood circulation or that James is trying so hard to do everything in his power to protect the younger children or that Melanie bless her is trying her hardest to make sure that all of them are well and unharmed. You should have seen her face when I dragged James away from them," He taunted over the phone, trying to get a rise out of Spencer. He stood stock still, trying not to let his emotions free, Carrie on the other hand let out a strangle cry as he detailed how her children were behaving.

"So why did you separate them?" Spencer asked.

"I'm always willing to give the children a chance to speak with their father before I take the mother but if I'm perfectly honest you're the first one who has cared enough to answer. Maybe the kids were right when they said you actually cared about them more than the job."

"Well, obviously they were right. I love them, they're my kids. Now tell me why you separated them,"

"Dad?" James's voice filled the tense room, making Carrie's and Spencer's heads shoot up.

"James, are you alright? What about Mel and Ace?" Spencer asked quickly.

"We're alright, no permanent damage. Ace is a bit upset but that's to be expected. We're fine," James replied.

"I just need you to hang on a little longer bud, ok? We're trying our best to find you and we will, just hold on,"

"I know Dad. We know. And Dad? I'm sorry, I'll never do it again I promise, I was just angry and…" James trailed off trying not to show too much emotion to his captors.

"James Spencer Reid, don't you dare even try and apologise. I told you that you were forgiven and that I wasn't really angry in the first place. Now enough of this, you're going to be fine and back to tormenting your siblings in no time," Spencer reassured knowing that that was what his son needed to hear.

"Wasn't that sweet, maybe you're right kid. My father would never have done something like that," The man's voice returned, filling the room with tension yet again, "Just so you know, _Agent_ Reid, either I get your wife today, or you lose a child today. Either way you lose." The phone line went dead. Garcia shook her head. No trace, no luck.


	6. Chapter 6

"Let me go, Spencer," Carrie demanded quietly, as she paced the conference room. The team was sat around the table watching the debate that was being had between the couple, "If it's between me and the kids then it's always going to be the kids Spence. Save them, please," She begged desperately.

"How about this Kid. We let him think that he has taken Carrie from us but follow at a distance," Morgan suggested to which both Carrie and Spencer glared at him.

"No. That would risk the children and Carrie. I can't lose you as well Car. Please understand that," Spencer tried to reason with her.

"Spencer I won't lose my children because of my inability to hand myself over, please understand that,"

"If you hand yourself over the four of you are as good as dead!"

"I'm going to the restroom!" Carrie declared turning on her heel as she left the room. Reid looked over at JJ who rushed to follow her friend, before he fell into one of the chairs and put his head in his hands.

"What do I do?" He asked helplessly looking at the agents left in the room, begging them to come up with an answer that they could use to get the family out of this whole and alive.

"We'll sort something out Kiddo. Don't worry, you'll work it out you always do," Rossi said calmly looking through the files which were laid out on the table.

"Carrie! Carrie! Spence! Hotch! Someone help!" JJ's voice flooded the conference room making every agent leap to their feet and run out to aid their colleague. She was on the floor gasping for air by Spencer's desk. A picture frame lay shattered beside her and there was no sign of Carol Reid anywhere.

"What happened? Jayje, are you alright?" Emily asked helping her friend up and sitting her on Spencer's chair.

"I'm fine, is Carrie? We were just talking and then someone hit me and I heard Carrie scream and struggle but I can't see her here now," JJ explained.

"That's because she's gone. Where is that infernal agent in charge of the protection detail?" Hotch yelled at one of the agents passing by. She scurried off to find the agent who had always been in charge of the protection details. Agent Richards.

"Oh no! Spence, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," JJ apologised.

"It's not your fault. It's the maniac who took her and I will kill him when I find them," Reid replied his voice was icy cold and his eyes were void of any emotion. Then the phone rang. The team leapt to positions around Reid's desk as he picked up the receiver.

"Well, well, well. Agent Reid, I thought you'd be busy out looking for you wife instead of waiting by the phone for me to ring. Does your wife mean that little to you?" The man taunted.

"My family means everything to me. Just like yours should have to your father. Besides she was taken from the bullpen just before you rang my phone, therefore I had no chance to go and look for her before you rang," Spencer retorted.

"Well in that case. Why don't you speak to your Daddy, Melanie while I get the room ready for a fourth occupant," The voice stated before a new, more familiar voice filled the room.

"Hi _Dad_," Mel said, "How are you?" This made most of the team smile at how brave the young girl was acting. It was the way many agents had been trained yet here was a ten year old girl behaving in the way that they should.

"Hey Mellie. I'm alright, what about you? Are you looking after those brothers of yours?" Spencer asked calmly trying to make the conversation as normal as possible.

"I'm looking after them. I promise. Ace misses you and Mum, while James spends his days pacing the basement, just like Grandpa does. Are you looking for us Daddy?" She replies innocently.

"Of course I am sweetheart, why would you ask that?"

"To prove the evil man wrong, he claims that you won't care enough about us but we keep telling him he's wrong," Mel sneered sounding like she was looking at her captor smugly, having just proven him wrong.

"Well, that's enough of that then. We'll speak again tomorrow Agent Reid and I do believe you know what will happen after that phone call," And with that the phone was slammed down and the bull pen was left in silence the agents in shock at the way Mel had spoken to her captor.

* * *

Mel was led back to the cell where her brothers were waiting. Food and water was shoved into her hands as she was thrust through the door. James caught her arm to steady her while Ace immediately latched onto her again. They sat down to eat the food they had been given and drink the water.

"They've got Mum," Mel told them in between bites. This shocked James but cheered Ace up. He seemed to have reverted back to his childish ways and neither James nor Mel was certain that he understood the situation that they were in.

The trap door opened and Carrie stumbled into the prison to join her children. Mel and James stood up and Ace practically threw himself at her. Together the elder children helped Carrie to sit down and gave her some of the food and water.

"Mommy! You came!" Ace cried happily, snuggling into her side, in a few minutes he was asleep. This left the trio able to talk as openly as Carrie would allow, that meant no talk of the other cases that had the same MO as this one and definitely no talk of death. The lunch was a sombre affair yet for some reason neither the children nor Carrie could find upset about the fact that they were all trapped in this cell together. The only person missing now was their dad and he would soon rescue them, of that they were certain.


	7. Chapter 7

"What do you mean he's missing?" Hotch bellowed at the young agent stood in front of his desk. The agent trembled, her arms wrapping around herself as though she thought she could hold herself together that way.

"He's not in his office sir, and when I asked where he was they said he was guarding Dr Reid's wife," She explained her voice shaking.

"Agent Richards hasn't been near Mrs Reid all day. So how is it possible that he has been 'guarding' her?"

"I'm sorry sir but that's what I was told," She protested before leaving the office. She kept her eyes glued to the ground as she walked past the team members in the bull pen. Everyone was moving quickly, trying to find something or do something to help. But no one knew exactly how. Spencer sat at his computer, his mind going over everything that he had heard, read or seen that was to do with this case. Morgan sat down on the edge of his desk.

"Go home Kid," he said, trying to sound supportive but the worry clear in his voice.

"No. If I go home and they're not there I won't be able to cope. At least being here I feel useful somehow," Reid explained.

"Ok, so places that have significance for the pair of you? I know it's personal but we may be able to stop him before it gets that far," Morgan asked as the rest of the team gathered around them. Spencer sighed rubbing a hand over his face as he thought.

"The University of Virginia, the Brandon Plantation and Gardens, Warwick Castle, here and our house," he responded, Hotch leant over and offered some comfort by placing his hand on Reid's shoulder.

"Dad?" Jack Hotchner's voice echoed across the bullpen, "What's going on? They said something's happened to Carrie, and you sent an armed agent to pick me up from school," He was almost immediately swept into Hotch's arms, Spencer was also pulled into the hug.

"Carrie has been taken as well now Jack. We don't want you to go home on your own in case the unsub turns up. Spencer could use some support right now, look after him," Hotch explained as he let go off his 'boys'. Jack went and sat in Carrie's seat beside Reid's desk and watched him with worried eyes. "Morgan you're with me, we're going to pay our Agent Richards a visit at his home. Emily, Rossi, you go over to the Reid's house and take a look around. JJ, Garcia, alert the media and get security camera feeds from all of the locations Spencer mentioned, but I wouldn't worry about Warwick Castle as that's in England," Hotch ordered before turning to leave as the others rushed to follow his orders.

Jack and Spencer stayed where they were. Neither of them particularly wanting to break the silence but taking comfort from the fact that the other was there. It was only when Spencer picked up Jack's backpack and handed it to him that the silence was broken.

"Any homework?" He asked the boy who had become like a son and little brother rolled into one. Jack smiled and nodded his head as he reached into his bag and took out a biology text book. He laid it on the table.

"Fancy helping me revise this?" Jack asked smiling. Spencer shook his head and picked up the book, turning to the teenager in the chair before firing questions at him.

* * *

"Mummy, where's Daddy?" Ace asked quietly from where he was curled up leaning on his mother. Carrie stroked his hair, trying to calm him.

"He's looking for us baby," She said softly watching as her two eldest slept opposite her, finally able to do so without the fear of something happening to their younger sibling/siblings.

"Is he coming to join us?"

"No baby he's coming to save us from the evil men,"

"When will he be here?"

"When he gets here, but it may be a while so we've got to be brave until he does, ok?"

"Ok, Mummy," It was then that the door at the top of the stairs flew open and two men stormed into the basement. They were in a rage, arguing about something. The older of the two was adamant that the younger was doing something wrong.

"You said to give the fathers a chance to talk to them so I did; now it's the last's turn," He stated, looking towards Ace.

"Yeah but I didn't expect him to answer each time. Father never did," The older one protested, "Fine. He can ring but only to let his father know that we have his mother," He relented, roughly grabbing Ace. He began crying and Carrie rushed to quieten him only to be pushed backwards onto the cold, hard, stone floor. This did nothing to stop Ace's distress if anything it made it worse and woke up Mel and James.

"Let him go!" James cried lunging at the man who held his brother only to be kicked by the other one.

"You're that guy from Dad's work. The one that fought with Jack," Mel observed, watching the man holding her little brother.

"That I am but we are going to let your brother speak to his father if he quietens down and you all behave. Otherwise we'll just move up to the next stage a day earlier than we're supposed to. I'm sure your father would love that," He taunted dragging Ace towards the exit as the young boy struggled in his grip.


End file.
